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It's only the future of a political party. No big deal.

Holding out hope

Former Teen Machine employee Nick Gillespie is a man of faith if nothing else. Now I don’t know if he believes in God. No, his faith is in another miracle happening. That leap of faith is in the rise of Libertarianism in the GOP.

Today Gillespie used a column in the Daily Beast to first attack Sarah Palin and John McCain as outdated relics in today’s GOP. In many ways I agree with him. McCain’s militarism and Palin’s “stupid and proud” routine do have a declining appeal with voters. After he makes that point Gillespie can’t resist saying what the antidote is for the GOP.

Guess? No, really think about it.

That’s right, the GOP’s ticket to the stars is in being more Libertarian. Couldn’t have seen that one coming a BILLION miles away from the Reason Magazine and Reason TV editor. He then goes on to name Rand Paul (shocking), Justin Amash, and Thomas Massie as symbols of this new libertarian breaking dawn.

Couple of thoughts.

First, before you highlight Amash you might want to remember that he in a recent poll for the Michigan U.S. Senate race he polled lower than the twitter handle @LOLGOP. Yes an online character beat him. An online character that is a parody of the GOP and has for an image on twitter an elephant sucking its own penis (pictured below).

So if I were Amash I’d reconsider that Senate bid.

Second, in the piece Gillespie lays out why he is fighting a losing battle. In blasting Palin he criticizes her naming of Ted Cruz as a libertarian hero. I agree with Gillespie, Cruz is no libertarian but he has co-opted enough of the message on economics, and agrees with Paul on social issues like abortion and gun control that it’s possible to see most GOP voters thinking there isn’t much daylight between Cruz and Paul, accept on the libertarian stuff they don’t like (which would include legalizing drugs, cutting military spending, and cutting money to Israel). This is what Rubio, Jindhal and Walker will do as well.

If any of them got the nomination and won the Presidency they wouldn’t do anything Libertarian aside from attacking social spending rhetorically, without actually being able to cut Social Security, Medicare or get rid of Obamacare. Why? The public doesn’t actually want to do those things, despite how many tea party rallies there are.

What do I base that on? Well we’ve had Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Bush all promise this and not deliver. Why would the next time be any different?